Musical instruments are generally items of personal possession and do not require carts for support or transport. A musician owns the instrument and is the sole user of the instrument, carrying it from home to performance as needed. However, in many circumstances, particularly those found in institutions of education and music there are a number of instruments that are used by a multiplicity of musicians and students that are not intended to be solely possessed and used by one musician. A well-known example of these types of instruments are those instruments collectively known as ORFF instruments.
The twentieth century German composer Carl Orff contributed to music education for the young through a method that combines music with motion. His system for musical education is largely based on developing a sense of rhythm in the students through group exercise and performance with percussion instruments. Carl Orff's method of instruction and education has enjoyed considerable acceptance and has been widely adopted into musical education programs.
The ORFF method of developing rhythm uses a multiplicity of simple percussion instruments played by a group of students simultaneously. In order to accomplish this method, the multiplicity of instruments are set up and arranged for the group to use. This set up can occupy considerable space. Many institutions are cramped for useable space and are in the unenviable position of setting up and breaking down these instruments in an ongoing daily schedule as the needs for the space and facilities changes.
Furthermore, when these instruments are not in use, and because the instruments are not owned individually, the ORFF instruments require appropriate storage. Consequently, ORFF instruments need to be brought from storage, set up for a lesson or a performance, and then returned to storage. Alternatively, the ORFF instruments are set up and, due to the inconvenience of transporting the instruments back and forth, they are left set up, necessitating that music program directors and students work around the ORFF instruments when not in actual use. A mobile instrument cart that could provide storage, set up, and transport for a collection of ORFF instruments would provide decided advantages over the current circumstances under which ORFF instruments are used.